About

Hi! I’m Celestine Chua, personal development blogger and founder of Personal Excellence, an online platform for personal growth. (Call me Celes please!)

My biggest passion is to help you achieve your highest potential and live your best life.

No matter who you are, you have the power to overcome your life’s obstacles and achieve your goals and dreams. My goal is to help you do that.

Born and raised in Singapore, I was constantly told by teachers and society that the meaning of life was to get good grades, get a good job, and earn lots of money. So I did that. As a student, I achieved top results and entered the National University of Singapore Business School, one of the top business schools in Asia. At university, I was on the Dean’s List, won awards and accolades for being the top student in my specialization, and secured a highly sought after career in a Fortune 50 company, against a thousand applicants in the region.

While my job paid very well, I soon discovered that there is much more to life than just earning money and material wealth. Following a series of pursuits and deep introspection which I shared here, I discovered my purpose in 2005, at the age of 20: to grow as a person and to help others grow and live their best lives.

So I quit my job in 2008 and started Personal Excellence, writing articles on personal development, doing 1-1 coaching, and conducting workshops. In less than three years, I grew PE into one of the top personal development sites in the world with over a million pageviews per month. Here’s what to expect here at my blog:

Articles. Over the last 15 years, I have written over 600 articles on personal growth covering topics like career, productivity, relationships, family, love and dating, happiness and positivity, purpose and meaning, emotional mastery, and more.
Free Resources. Besides articles, you will find different resources to support you including podcasts, ebooks, manifestos, infographics, wallpapers, and quotes.
Media. I’ve been featured over 80 times in the media, including CNN, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Lifehacker, CBS, Today, The Sunday Age, Channel News Asia, Sun-Herald, The Sunday Age, Asia One, Her World, 938 Live, Kiss92, and more. (See my full media coverage.)
Being profiled in a documentary about inspiring women in Singapore
On Channel News Asia, a prominent news network in Asia
On Good Morning Singapore! on Channel 8
International Community. PE readers are international and come from over 180 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Portugal, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines! (See my past reader meetups.)
Speaking. I conduct speeches and workshops, and have worked with University of Pennsylvania, Kimberly Clark, Dove, The Asia Business Forum, de Baak (training institute in Holland), Ministry of Defence (Singapore), JobsCentral, NUS Global Alumni Network, People’s Association, National Library, Singapore Institute of Management, and more.
Courses. I have worked with thousands of individuals around the world to thrive in their careers, business, relationships, health, and personal goals. I have also created a line-up of courses on personal growth, such as Live a Better Life in 30 Days, Be a Better Me in 30 Days, How To Stop Emotional Eating, and Anti-Procrastination Course, and conducted many challenges with tens of thousands of participants from around the world.

“Absolutely love your writing. Your articles resonate very powerfully with me and I look forward to reading and continuing my leadership and skill development using your advice and experiential wisdom. Thank you for helping this 35-year-old father of two become the best father, professional, leader, and all-round person he can be.” — Greg, USA
“Just wanted to say thank you for your words of wisdom on dealing with anger within families. You basically saved me from needing a lifetime of therapy and showed me a way to reflect and grow instead.” — A
“I just want to say that the simple methods you offer in 30BBM have been transformative for me, and I’m in my 50s. People are seeing more change faster than I can imagine.” — Carlene, USA
“Hi Celes, I submitted my PhD thesis about half an hour ago! I owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Your articles on efficiency and staying motivated, and your course on beating procrastination, were so helpful to me.” — Sarah, UK
“I just like to say thank you for such an uplifting article. My brother passed away last week and I have been doing much soul searching since. Your article has given me hope to find something more meaningful in my life and I plan to begin working on finding my real purpose this evening.” — Bob

The answers you seek in life lie in you. No matter what you’re going through right now, I want you to know that you’re not alone. No matter how difficult the challenge you’re facing, there is a way out. And my hope is that I can help you in some way through my work at PE.

I know there’s a lot of content here, so it can be tricky to know where to start. Here are some reader favorites at PE:

Visit my articles section with over 600 articles on personal growth. Join my newsletter to get my latest updates and articles. As a thank you, you’ll get free ebooks that I’ve created of my most popular articles at PE.

If there’s anything you’d like to see, let me know. I look forward to talking to you soon! :)

– Celes

About Me

Background. Born and raised in Singapore (1984). Since my early 20s, I have traveled the world (Asia, Europe, the US, Asia Pacific, etc.) for work and personal travel. During 2022-2025, I moved to London for my husband’s work. I’m now back home in Singapore. ❤
Childhood. I was raised by traditional Chinese parents and grew up poor. I understand the value of money and what it means to work your way up with nothing. I share some parts of my childhood in my anger series, parent series, femininity series, and emotional eating series. This is random, but I share my childhood photos here.
World traveler. Since my 20s, I have traveled and lived in different parts of the world, first for my corporate work, then for my business and personal travel. Places I’ve been to include Holland, Germany, France, East Europe, the UK, the US, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, India, South East Asia, Australia, and South Africa. I love traveling as I get to see different cultures and connect with different people.
Purpose. My life purpose is “To achieve my highest potential and live my best life; To help others achieve their highest potential and live their best lives; To raise the world’s consciousness and unite the world as one.” (Read how I found my purpose.) I launched PE as a direct result of pursuing my purpose. While PE is my business, it’s more than that — it is my passion and my life.
Values. My values are Excellence, Love, Truth, Courage, and Authenticity. I believe in doing what’s right, being true to who you are, setting the highest standards for yourself, and treating others with love and respect.
Family. I’m married (2014) and mother to my baby girl (since 2019). ❤︎‬ I took a career hiatus (till 2025) since she was born and have looked after her full time as a stay-at-home mum, exclusively breastfeeding, taking on all childcare and household duties, and navigating the motherhood journey alone. It was an isolating journey and I hope to write on this down the road.
Vegan. I’m a vegan by choice. I tried a vegetarian diet in 2008 as part of a 30-day experiment, and continued afterward as I felt better and had increased mental clarity. I became a vegan in 2019. My reasons for being a vegan are better health, to reduce cruelty, and the environment. While I’m a vegan, I don’t impose my diet on others — you’re free to eat whatever you choose.

More about me:

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